(Minghui.org) I worked as a contractor for the U.S. Military in Iraq and while there I met many people from countries all over the world. In 2010, while I was working on a U.S. base in Baghdad, I met a Ugandan security guard named James (a pseudonym due to uncertainties in Uganda). I remember being surprised and amazed that he had the same name as my best friend from childhood in Texas. For this very reason, I was extra thoughtful towards James from Uganda.
James left Iraq in 2011 and I left in 2012, but we kept in touch online through emails and instant messaging. Whenever we talked, we mostly talked about everyday things, like how we were doing, our families, and work.
I made many friends in Iraq and I tried to keep in touch with many of them, but over the years, I lost touch with almost everyone. But James and I always stayed in touch.
I began practicing Falun Dafa in 2017 after a friend emailed me the book Zhuan Falun. I experienced many health benefits and my life improved in many ways. All of my questions about life and the universe were answered in Zhuan Falun. I saw that Falun Dafa was very good. So after that, each time James and I messaged each other online, I told him about Falun Dafa. I asked him to read Zhuan Falun, but he was never really interested until a few years later.
In July 2020, James messaged me online with very sad news. He told me that his mother, Ms. Birungi (a pseudonym), had been in the hospital for seven days due to high blood pressure, and her health was deteriorating daily. James told me that she could not walk or talk properly, and he seemed very sad and nervous. When James told me what happened, I told him to read Zhuan Falun to her and she would get better.
It just so happened that a few nights before, I was reading Zhuan Falun to my wife, who was having a very bad migraine one night. She could hardly bear the pain. When I read Zhuan Falun to her, it made her pain go away and allowed her to rest while listening to me read. I learned that this book has power and I believed it would help James’s mother as well.
After I told James to read Zhuan Falun to his mother, he went to a local print shop in Kampala and printed the first lecture of Zhuan Falun to read to her. When he got to the hospital, Ms. Birungi was able to read Zhuan Falun on her own, although James helped her read some parts of it when she could not read it. A few hours later, Ms. Birungi could walk again and she recovered enough to leave the hospital and return home that same day. It was truly a miracle. Within two days, she had fully recovered and was even healthier than she had been in the past.
James learned that Falun Dafa is good, so he printed out the rest of the book for his mother, and a copy for himself. He began to tell many people that his mother was healed by reading Zhuan Falun and that Falun Dafa is good.
James told his childhood friend Mustapha (a pseudonym) about how Ms. Birungi was healed by reading Zhuan Falun. Mustapha became very interested in Falun Dafa and he also began to read the book and practice Falun Dafa. Mustapha then began to tell others about Falun Dafa. Those people then told others, and many people began to learn about the goodness of Falun Dafa. James and Mustapha told more and more people about Falun Dafa, and every day, many more people wanted to read Zhuan Falun.
Printing one copy of Zhuan Falun at a print shop cost almost $40, so we decided early on that purchasing a printer would be best. Also, mailing the Falun Dafa exercise DVD to James in Kampala, Uganda, cost over $250, so we knew that mailing books there would not be an option.
James said, “Here, people have no money to buy books, yet they want to know the truth.” James and I, with the help of local practitioners, decided to provide a free copy of Zhuan Falun to anyone in Uganda who seemed to be serious about wanting to learn Falun Dafa. Within a few days, James had printed and given out 27 copies of the book.
When James went to deliver books in Seeta, they asked for more books because they said the message they saw in the book was very interesting. James’s older brother also began practicing Falun Dafa and he has shared it with many people as well.
James later contacted his friend Thomas (an alias) who lives in Gulu, Uganda. He had worked with James in Iraq. James told him about Falun Dafa, and Thomas also began to practice. Thomas then told many people in Gulu about Falun Dafa, and many people in Gulu have since read Zhuan Falun and started practicing Falun Dafa.
James has made several four-hour bus trips to Gulu to deliver Zhuan Falun books. He went to Gulu in October 2020 to deliver 47 copies. Before he headed home, there were even more requests to read Zhuan Falun. There were so many book requests from Gulu that James started using a courier service to deliver the books to Gulu. James recently had 32 books delivered to Gulu by courier.
There were so many requests for books from the people of Gulu that in November, with the help of local practitioners, we purchased a printer for Thomas to print them in Gulu. James delivered the printer and showed Thomas how to print Zhuan Falun. Since getting the printer a few weeks ago, Thomas has already printed and given away 108 copies of Zhuan Falun,with nine requests to be printed and delivered tomorrow. So far, 464 copies have been given to people in Uganda from many places, including, but not limited to Gulu, Masaka, Kampala, Kireka, Bulenga, Ntinda, Mulago, Kamwokya, Makerere, Seeta, Kayunga, Mukono, Namilyango, Entebbe, Seguku, Natete, Lungujja, Bwaise, Nansana, Kasubi, Mengo, and Mpigi.
The people are very thankful to James and everyone who helps provide the Zhuan Falun books. After they read the book, many call him on the phone to thank him again for such an amazing book. He gets calls every day. Some people, after seeing the power of Zhuan Falun, have asked him, “What is in the book?”
He also gets calls every day from people requesting books. One day I was instant messaging James, and in that short period of time, he received two phone calls from two people, who did not know each other, both requesting a copy of Zhuan Falun. Today while we were messaging online, he received four requests.
The call to James and the book requests are increasing daily. One time, he got a call in the middle of the night. The fellow said, “This is the best book I’ve ever read in my life.” On another late-night phone call, a gentleman said, “Thank you very much for the book. I wish I’d known about Falun Dafa a long time ago.” Many people have said they wished they’d known about Falun Dafa a long time ago. I, myself, have felt the same way.
Many Ugandans say that Zhuan Falun will make you change your behavior, and it teaches people how to be good to each other. Many also say that they like the cultural aspects found in Zhuan Falun. Others say that the book brings peace to whoever reads it. James said, “More people want the book because their friends have told them what is in it.”
Many Ugandans are surprised that the book is free because the churches and the mosques ask for money and they cannot get a Bible or a Quran for free. When they see that Zhuan Falun is free, it speaks volumes to them about Falun Dafa.
James used to express a desire to move to America in the future. But James is now very happy in Uganda and wants to stay there and help make people’s lives better by giving them Zhuan Falun. He says the people who read it feel blessed. Most people in Uganda speak English and he has been printing the 2018 English Version of the book. He has also been giving people the Falun Dafa exercise DVD.
It takes approximately 20 minutes to print one copy, and James spends most of his days printing Zhuan Falun books. James’s friend, Brian (an alias), also began practicing Falun Dafa and he helps James print the books. They now print the books in Brian’s electronics shop, and different people go there throughout the day asking for a copy of Zhuan Falun.
Everything started small, with one book here, four books there, then 47 books to Gulu alone. In a few short months, the numbers have now grown into the hundreds, all by word of mouth. The people of Uganda really see the power in Zhuan Falun and believe that Falun Dafa is good.
On a side note, one day James told me that he wanted to change the color of the cover of the Zhuan Falun books that he was printing from blue to a different color. I said, “You know the English version has a blue cover, right?” James said he didn’t know that. I was surprised. I said, “Really? When you sent me the picture of the first Zhuan Falun book you printed with a blue cover, I thought you knew the English version was blue. Why did you pick blue?”
James said, “I didn’t pick blue. When I went to print Zhuan Falun for the first time at the print shop, I just gave the employee the file and went outside to wait for the book to be printed. When he handed me the printed version of Zhuan Falun, it had a blue cover and I just continued to print all the books with a blue cover.” I was amazed. I believed this was all part of Master’s plan. Thank you, Master. Heshi.